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1.
What are common exposures?
At
ISO 100 you will be at 1/4 second @ f22 or 1/2 second @ f32. Increasing
exposure
times increases depth of field.
2.
Does color temperature change with dimming?
There
is less than 200 degrees in color temperature variation as the lights
are dimmed
from 100% to 0%. Astron recommends you turn on all the lights when
you
first start up a production day, because fluorescent lamps may need
a three
or four minute warm-up period to reach normal color.
3.
I only use strobe; will this system work with my digital camera?
Yes,
the Orbiculight has been tested with high-end digital systems. The
Orbiculight is
a flicker-free light source. You just be increase your exposure times
rather than firing
a strobe.
4.
How do I shoot from straight overhead?
There
are two ways:
-
Raise dome and place camera at highest part of dome.
-
Lower bed so camera does not need to be so high. If bed becomes
too steep you
may need to adhere product to bed with sticky material. You can
also do copy
work this way.
5.
How is the light diffused?
A
translucent piece of diffusion material is attached with Velcro to
the inside of the dome.
Another piece is laid on the bed and cove. The diffusion material
will give you
a long working life with reasonable handling. It should be cleaned
with a non-abrasive
cleaner. Soft Scrub can be used for tougher stains.
6.
How do I minimize a horizon line?
Raising
the rear cove to the highest position reduces the line. Clamping
the diffusion material
to the top of the cove (to lift the diffusion material up away from
the hinge point)
will also reduce the line. Orbiculights built after 9/1/99 have a
curved Plexiglas support
to further minimize the horizon line.
7.
What is the expected working life of the fluorescent lamps?
The
lamps are rated for 30,000 hours, but dimming the lamps shortens life.
Color temperature remains relatively consistent for 10,000 hours.
Astron recommends you change
all lamps once every two years, at a total cost to user of about $450.00.
8.
Do I have to change all of the lamps when one burns out?
Astron
lamps are very consistent in color and replacement lamps from Astron
should match
up very well. However, if the existing lamps have over 3,000 hours
of use you may
need to change all the lamps.
9.
Does Astron have an interfaced control panel?
Not
at this time. Astron offers a Record Sheet that allows you to manually
record your settings for future reference and repetition.
10.
Do I need add-on lights?
By
learning the capabilities of the Orbiculight and using scrims and
gels you can create
almost any lighting effect. (Remember that you can remove the diffusion
material
for more harsher contrast.) If you really need a strong, long shadow,
you
can use a spotlight or additional light source which can easily clamp
on to the many
utility bars. Be certain to color balance the additional light.
It is great to explore
the endless possibilities!
11. Can
the Orbiculight balance to tungsten sources?
Yes.
If you work in a tungsten environment and want the Orbiculight to
be consistent,
place the appropriate warm correction filters in all the gel tubes.
You
can still add scrims and other colors to the gel tubes with the correction
filters
in place.
12. Is
this just a big light tent?
Yes
and no! Yes, You can "tent light" a difficult product using
the broad even light
of an Orbiculight. But it is much more than a "light tent."
You can truly create
mood, contrast and shadowing in various ways. Using scrims, gels,
black
cards, mirrors, white cards, dimming capabilities and removing diffusion
all
create stunning effects. The more you experiment, the more you will
discover.
13. Can
you use blue gels to create a blue screen?
You
can, but the blue light emitted from the bed can reflect into the
product taking away
the usefulness of blue screen. Most users report excellent results
by raising the
light level in the bed by 50% or greater; then drop out of the background
is very easy.
14. How
do I use black scrims and color gels and where do I get them?
You
can purchase scrim material and gel kits from Astron. You may also
use reject black
film from a printer for scrims. You may buy color gels from your
local photo supplier
and cut them to size. Simply slide a gel tube out only as far as
necessary to accommodate gel length and slip bottom of gel into tube
and push the middle into tube
until seated. Then slide gel or scrim back and forth in tube and
slide tube back into
Orbiculight to desired position.
15. I'm
just starting to enter the digital world. Can I use the Orbiculight
for both film and digital?
Yes.
The Orbiculight tubes are daylight balanced for film. Your increased
profit from using the Orbiculight will help your transition into the
digital world.
16.
How do I “drop out” the background? (Also called “masking” or “clipping
a path”.)
There
are at least 4 ways:
- Raise
the lights in the bed to an acceptable level for the magic wand
in PhotoShop to grab the entire background in a single click or
multiple clicks of the mouse.
- Raise
the lights in the bed to a higher level than the lighting from above
so there is no dot in the background. (255 in levels)
- Raise
the level of the lights in the bed 50 to 75%. Light the overall
product.
Take this capture and open "selective color" from "adjust"
in
the image tool bar. In the "white" selection move the
black slider bar
to the left until there is no dot in the white background.
- When
the product does not benefit from light in the bed, take an exposure
for the product. Then take a second exposure with only the
bed lights on full power. You can use the "histogram"
and "color range"
to create a litho with this second exposure. Copy and paste the
second exposure onto the first image for a perfect mask.
A
little experimentation and you will be dropping out even the most
complex outlining projects. These timesavings create more profits.
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